Nahum 1:9 (ASV)

Passage

What do ye devise against Jehovah? he will make a full end; affliction shall not rise up the second time.

Nearby Context

Nahum 1:7 Jehovah is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that take refuge in him.

Nahum 1:8 But with an over-running flood he will make a full end of her place, and will pursue his enemies into darkness.

Nahum 1:9 What do ye devise against Jehovah? he will make a full end; affliction shall not rise up the second time.

Nahum 1:10 For entangled like thorns, and drunken as with their drink, they are consumed utterly as dry stubble.

Nahum 1:11 There is one gone forth out of thee, that deviseth evil against Jehovah, that counselleth wickedness.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "devise", "against", "jehovah", "make", "full", "affliction", "shall", and "rise". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "devise" and "against", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 8's "But with an over-running flood he will..." into verse 10's "For entangled like thorns and drunken as...", so "devise" and "against" belong inside that flow. In Nahum context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "devise" and "against" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.